I'm surprised that Deng made it in the East, although he deserves it, I think. Aldridge is the same way - well deserved. I'm surprised that Dirk, Parker, and Nash all made it. Marc Gasol over Pau is interesting.

There's probably not any reasonable argument for Amare deserving the spot ahead of Bosh. Their scoring and rebounding numbers are similar, but Bosh is shooting a much higher percentage and is putting up those numbers as his team's third option, which Stoudemire's numbers are down across the board despite still being option 1a for the Knicks.

A couple of gripes I have:

1. Kevin Love should be starting over Griffin and Carmelo shouldn't be starting, either. I know the fans vote on this, so there's not much that can be done, but warrants mentioning.

2. Roy Hibbert over Tyson Chandler doesn't make much sense to me. I know that the voters probably wanted to reward Indiana for being good this year, but Chandler has transformed the Knicks defense from bottom third of the league to a top 10 unit, and has but up similar scoring and rebounding numbers to Hibbert while doing so. Hibbert's averaging 13.6 and 9.9 and Chandler's averaging 12.0 and 9.9. But Chandler's been much, much more efficient, is actually flirting with breaking the modern record for TS% this season. His TS% is an insane 75.3%, 25 points higher than Hibbert's. That said, Hibbert deserves a couple of votes for his work with Entertainment 720.

3. Rondo should be on the team over Deron Williams. Williams' numbers are down across the board, he's on a terrible team, and Rondo's clearly been the best player on the Celtics.

Did think Rondo would make it. Would pick him over Williams everyday. Also interesting to see Tim Duncan out, but I suppose that was a matter of time. Marc Gasol is having a helluva year across the board and should be there.

Fan voting is a really bad formula for putting out the most deserving starters. Kevin Love should be starting over Bynum. There is no conceivable way that you can argue that Andrew Bynum has had a better season then Love. I know they want the fans involved, but the principle that "who ever the fans like the most gets to start" bothers me.

Fan voting is a really bad formula for putting out the most deserving starters. Kevin Love should be starting over Bynum. There is no conceivable way that you can argue that Andrew Bynum has had a better season then Love. I know they want the fans involved, but the principle that "who ever the fans like the most gets to start" bothers me.

Have you actually seen Bynum play this season? He's the second-best center in the league. And although they don't play defense in the ASG, Howard would destroy Love or Griffin in the interior if they did.

The East's top 5 could very well be the starting 5 for the USA in London, but I'd take the West's top 9 or 10 guys over their counterparts in the East.

Fan voting is a really bad formula for putting out the most deserving starters. Kevin Love should be starting over Bynum. There is no conceivable way that you can argue that Andrew Bynum has had a better season then Love. I know they want the fans involved, but the principle that "who ever the fans like the most gets to start" bothers me.

Have you actually seen Bynum play this season? He's the second-best center in the league. And although they don't play defense in the ASG, Howard would destroy Love or Griffin in the interior if they did.

The East's top 5 could very well be the starting 5 for the USA in London, but I'd take the West's top 9 or 10 guys over their counterparts in the East.

I'm just trying to make this clear: Are you actually trying to make the argument that Bynum as had a better year then Love?

Nope. But Love should be starting instead of Griffin, not Bynum. The starters selected are two guards, two forwards, and one center. Andrew Bynum is the best center in the West. Kevin Love is not. And if the game actually mattered at all you'd see Bynum out on the floor for the majority of Dwight Howard's minutes, and Marc Gasol for the rest.

I have no idea, but positions don't really matter in the ASG. I remember the West would start KG at small forward, so I don't see why Love couldn't start at Center.

Because the ballots, unless they've changed, require you to vote for 2 guards, 2 forwards, and 1 center. The reason KG has started at SF previously (and why LeBron and Melo are starting in the East this year) is because the ballot doesn't distinguish between SF and PF. If Love is listed as a forward, and not as a center, there's no reason to be surprised that Bynum is starting over him. I agree with sibpin that Love should be starting over Griffin, not Bynum.

I know that nobody cares here (hell, I don't really even care about the All Star Game) but I don't see how Tony Parker should be a reserve ahead of Monta Ellis. I know that Parker is more of a traditional PG but Ellis is a more dynamic player and is a top 10 scorer. Of course, Parker is a more efficient player but given that the game is really an exhibition, Ellis is a better fit. Oh well...

Edit: I wrote this before Ellis sank a turn-around jumper in Grant Hill's face (for a 39 year old, Hill is still a pretty good defender) to seal a road win in Phoenix. Its too bad Monta plays in relative obscurity - he really is one of the more exciting players in the Association right now.

I know that nobody cares here (hell, I don't really even care about the All Star Game) but I don't see how Tony Parker should be a reserve ahead of Monta Ellis. I know that Parker is more of a traditional PG but Ellis is a more dynamic player and is a top 10 scorer. Of course, Parker is a more efficient player but given that the game is really an exhibition, Ellis is a better fit. Oh well...

Edit: I wrote this before Ellis sank a turn-around jumper in Grant Hill's face (for a 39 year old, Hill is still a pretty good defender) to seal a road win in Phoenix. Its too bad Monta plays in relative obscurity - he really is one of the more exciting players in the Association right now.

Gotta respectfully disagree on this one. Tony Parker has been the best player on a team that's currently second in the Western conference and played a huge chunk of the season without Ginobli. He's got a better APER, PER, more win shares, more alternate win shares, and has the exact same TS% as Ellis. I agree that Ellis would probably be more fun to watch, but Parker's been a better player this season and if the season ended today, would probably end up in the top 5 in MVP votes.

Gotta respectfully disagree on this one. Tony Parker has been the best player on a team that's currently second in the Western conference and played a huge chunk of the season without Ginobli. He's got a better APER, PER, more win shares, more alternate win shares, and has the exact same TS% as Ellis. I agree that Ellis would probably be more fun to watch, but Parker's been a better player this season and if the season ended today, would probably end up in the top 5 in MVP votes.

Well we agree that Parker's a more efficient basketball player and I believe we agree that his superior skills don't translate to excitement for the casual NBA fan. That said, I think you nailed the sole reason - the Spurs are second in the West. Say no more.

However I could also make a case for Ellis over Steve Nash...but I won't...